Vessel-labeling machine.



G. L. MEYER.

VESSEL LABELING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED nov.1a, 1912.

1,075,71 9. Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA puuoomum co., WASHINGTON, n. c.

G. L. MEYER.

VESSEL LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.18,.1912.

1,075,71 9. Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

gvwmaaa r 1 0211061 08. g Q1. 52*

M g y W w y W COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH 50., ASHINGTON, u. c.

G. L. MEYER.

VESSEL LABELING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV.18, 1912.

Patented Oct. 14, 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

COLUMBIA PLANOGBAPH CO.,\VASN|NOTON, u. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

GEORGE L. MEYER, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

VESSEL-LABELING MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE L. MEYER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vessel- Labeling Machines; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple, economical and effective vessel labeling machine, the arrangement and construction being such that groups of vessels are deposited upon a centering tray and automatically picked up therefrom by conveyer carrying holders, which holders deliver the group of vessels to cam actuated label-afiixing mechanism, whereby one or a pair of labels is simultaneously affixed to each of said vessels after a succession of gluing, label-picking, label-depositing and wiping operations Vith the above objects in view the invention consists in certain peculiarities of con struetion and combination of mechanical elements as hereinafter set forth with reference to the accompanying illustrations and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 re resents a longitudinal sectional elevation of a vessel-labeling machine embodying the features f my invention: Fig. 2, a side elevation of the same; Fig. 3, a sectional plan view of the machine, the section being indicated by line 3*3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a vertical sectional view of said machine, the section being indicated by line t lof Fig. l, and Fig. 5, a detailed cross-section of certain shifting mechanism for a label-aflixing device.

Referring by characters to the drawings, 1 represents a pair of suitably connected side standards having journaled therein front and rear shafts Q, 2', the ends of which project through the standards. The shafts carry pairs of spaced sprocket-wheels 3 and 3 respectively that are positioned between and adjacent to the inner faces of the standards, which standards are also provided with longitudinally disposed guide cleats 4 that serve as supports for the upper stretches of a pair of endless chain-belts 5 that are mounted upon said sprocket-wheels. These chainbelts are connected at intervals by trans versely arranged lag-bars 6 that are secured to suitable ear extensions of certain of the chain links, each of which lag-bars carries a Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed November 18, 1912.

Patented Oct. 14,1913.

Serial No. 732,121.

group of alined V-shaped vessel holders 7, the same being riveted or otherwise secured to wood strips 6 that are affixed to the upper faces of said lag-bars and upon which the bottom of the vessels are arranged to rest.

Secured to the upper faces of the standards and adjacent to the front ends thereof are a pair of vertically arranged webbed side plates 1 having alined vertical slots 8 therein that constitute runways for a transversely positioned comb-carrying cross-head 9, the same being provided with shoes 9 that engage the cdges of the runway slots. The cross-head 9 carries a plurality of depending flat plates constituting comb-teeth 10 that are in staggered relations to the upwardly projecting vessel holders 7, whereby the latter are capable of travel through the interstices of said comb teeth when the latter are lowered to an intermeshing position with relation thereto. The comb-carrying crosshead 9 is raised or lifted by a pair of weighted levers 11, 11' that are rigidly secured to a rock-shaft 11, which rock-shaft is fulcrumed in the side plates 1, the lever being connected by pitman rods 12 to trunnions carried by the cross-head shoes. One of the weighted levers 11 is linked to a rock-arm 12, which rock-arm is in turn fnlcrumed to the adjacent standard and carries an antifriction roller 12" at its free end for engagement with a heart cam 13, the latter being rigidly mounted upon one end of the rear shaft 2', which shaft, in the assemblage shown, is utilized as a driver for the mechanism. Thus it will be seen from the foregoing description that the cross-head, by its link connections, is lifted by weight power that is under cam-control, the contour of which cam is such that when the cross head teeth are in their low position and at rest, a group of vessel-holders is caused to pass through the comb-teeth interstices, the holders receiving their movement or travel through their ch ain-belt connection that constitutes an endless conveyer.

Directly rearward of and alined with the comb-teeth 10 are a corresponding series of fixed depending wiper-carrying fingers 14-, which fingers in this instance are shown attached to the bottom of a transversely arranged glue-pot- 15 that is suitably secured to the webbed side-plates l and so positioned as to permit the vessel-holders 7 to travel thereunder. Each of these fingers 1 carries a pair of vertically spaced transversely disposed flexible wiper-wings l t, 1%", the ends of opposite pairs of which wipers project across the line of travel of the ve;-;sel-holders and are arranged to engage and fold down the ends of labels that have been previously atlixed to vessels contained in such holders. The label-wiping movement, caused through the travel. rearward of the vessels, produces a drawing effect upon the label ends in opposite directions to smooth out and firmly aflix the same to curved faces of said vessels. The upper sets of wiper-wings 14: are employed for the purpose of setting labels upon the necks of bottles in the particular machine herein described and shown, the lower sets of wipers being utilized in a similar manner for setting body labels thereon, it being understood however that the device will, with equal efficiency, affix labels npon different elevations of any shaped package, the means for affixing labels upon vessels comprising a series of alined atfixing pads 16, each set of which pads, as shown, being connected by a self-adjusting arm 17 that is fulcrumed to spurs 18 of a transversely arranged yokebar 18', the same being both transversely and longitudinally reciprocatcd. The label-affixing pads are normally at rest in the line of travel of the holders 7 and in rearward proximity to the cross-head teeth 10, where by lables carried by and stretched across the gaps between the comb-teeth are taken up by the group of vessels within the holders and impressed at one point upon said ves els co-incident to the positive rearward travel of the yoke-bar at the same speed as that of the aforesaid vessels. The ends of the yoke-bar are supported by shoes 1!) that project through. horizontal slots in the webbed side-plates 1, each of which shoes carries a depending pair of anti-friction rollers 19 that straddle a canrtrack 20. the said camtrack being secured to the outer faces of the side plates. An earcd stud 21 hinged to the outer end of each yolre-bar shoe 15) for the reception of ends of linlts 21, the opposite ends of which links are connected to arms of bell-crank levers 22. The opposite arms of each of the bell-crank levers 22 are linked to rocker-arms Q3, 23 that are rigidly secured to ends of a rocker-shaft 24, the same being journaled in suitable bearings with which the forward end of the standard is provided. The rocker-arm is extended to length relative to its companion arm and carries at its free end an anti-friction roller 23 that engages a l'ieart-shaped actuating cam 24, which latter is rigidly secured to the drive-shaft 2, the contour of the cam being such that rearward movement of the aflixing pads 16 is delayed at the moment of engagement of the vessels with their respective labels, whereby said labels given an initial pressure upon the vessels by the pads at the instant that the aforesaid labels are stripped from the cross-head teeth and thereafter the vessels and affixing pads move rearward together with the interposed sets of labels, whereby they are held and laid firmly about the faces of the bottles by engagement of the Wiper-wings to thus lay each entire label smoothly upon the surface of the bottle or container. Thereafter the shoe-rollers 19' of a yoke-bar engage parallel inclined faces 20 of the camtracks 20 and said yoke-bar 18' is thus transversely shifted to cause its spurs together with the affixing pads to sidestep in order to permit the uninterrupted rearward travel of the now labeled group of vessels, it being understood that the cam will then permit forward return of said aflixing pads to their normal position of rest. This return is effected through retraction of coiled springs 25 that connect the bell-crank levers 2; and s de-plates 1. It should be understood however such retraction can be effected by weights, it also being apparent that the cams employed, while being described as having single faces may be of the groove type, whereby the mechanical movement desired can be obtained positively in both directions.

Mounted in the glue-pot 15, which contains suitable adhesive material, is a partially submerged glue-roller 26 that is en gaged at intervals by an oscillatory camcontrolled gluedistributing roller 26, the pintles of which roller are horizontally guided upon flanges 26 that project from the side-plates 1., the said distributing roller being arranged to oscillate between the glue-roller and vertical line of travel of the cross-head comb-teeth, whereby adhesive material is taken from the glue roll-er and deposited upon the face of said teeth co-incident to rise of the cross-head. The pintles of the distributing roller 26 are connected by strips to arms of a pair of rocker-levers 27 that are rigidly mounted upon a rod 27, the same being journaled in the side-p ates 1. Other arms of the rocker levers 27' are connected to a label carrying frame 28 having upper and lower series of magazines Q8, 29". res iectively, for the reception of stacks of labels, each magazine being provided with a springcontrolled feed-plunger E29 and label-retaining catch -plates 29, whereby the facelabels, when impressed against the gluecoated cross-head teeth will he thus extracted by adhesion from the stack, it being understood that the details of said label-can rying mechanism forms no part of my invention. The label-frame 28 is suspended between the side-plates 1' by means of pin and slot connections as shown, the slots being formed in ears of the frame 28, while are: the pins are carried by the sideplates.

movement thereof and co-incident with'the completion of said movement it is retracted to engage the glue-roller 26, while the label-carrying frame 28 is'forced forward to place a series of pairs of labelsinposi-v tion upon said glue-coated teeth and thereafter the label-magazines and their frame are retracted slightly accompanied by a necessary forward movement of the distributing roller, which forward movement is not suflicient 'to cause engagementthereof with the comb teeth and-is only duet-o the direct lever connection with the frame, it being understood that the said connection can be independent if desired without departing from the spirit of my'invent-ion. Hence from the foregoing description it is apparent that the cross-head and labels adhering thereto can now be lowered to an afiixing position with respect to a series of vessels mounted within the spacedholders.

Secured to the front end of and: between the standards 1 is a receiving tray 32 having a series of apertures 32 thereinthat are alined with the vessel-holders. These tray-apertures serve as seats or pockets for the receptionof a'line of bottles-or vessels to be labeled and when so centered'iwithin the tray-pockets the bottles are automatically picked up by the V-shaped self-centering vessel-holders as the latter pass through the tray apertures in their travel toward the label'aflixing mechanism'that is, as described, all located above the conveyer.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that a series of alined bottles being dropped in position upon the tray 32 they will be carried up to the position indicated in full lines Fig. 1, in which position the neck and body of each bottle come incon;

tact with a corresponding label. 'Coe'incident with this engagement as the bottles tend to strip the labels from the comb-teeth 10 said labels are caught between the aflixing pads which will now hold them firmly at central points. After a slight initial pressure due to opposition of the pads the bottle, together with the pads and interposed labels, will now travel rearward due to the action of the cam mechanism which causes positive longitudinal travel of the yoke-bar 18. At an intermediate point of this longitudinal travel the free ends of the labels are brought into contact with the fixed wiper Wings 14 and 14, whereby the labels are securely laid about the walls of the neck and body of the bottle and thereafter said bottle is delivered to a convenient receiving mechanism. To complete the cycle of operation just described after the labels have been stripped from the cross-head teeth the said cross-head will by its cam-controlled actuating mechanism be lifted to the position indicated in dotted lines Fig. 1 and in its travel upward it will engage the glue-distributing roller 26,

whereby the adjacent faces of said teeth will be coated with adhesive material, said roller being held firmly against the teeth by its cam-controlled actuating mechanism. At the completion of the upward movement of the cross-head the lever 30 will be sharply lifted by its cam, whereby the labelcarrying frame will be forced forward to causethe facing labels contained in its magazine to be fixed by adhesion to the now glued face of the cross-head teeth, after which movement the actuating cam of the label-carrying frame will cause the latter to retract to the position shown in Fig. 1, whereby the cross-head is returned to the position shown in full lines in said figure, preparatory to receiving a' second series of vessels and so on the labeling operation is continuously repeated.

In order to positively drive the glue roller 26 one end of the shaft thereof is extended through the adjacent side-plate 1, which shaft-end carries a sprocket-wheel 34: for the reception of a chainbelt 35 that engages-a second sprocket-wheel 36, which latter sprocket-wheel is mounted upon one end of-the rear shaft 2, as best shownin Figs.-' 2 and 1 of the drawings. Hence positive rotation of the glue-wheel is had whereby the latter will distribute the liquid adhesive to the distributing roller 26',this roller being positively driven from the glue-roller .by intermeshed toothed gears 37, 37, that are .respectively secured to the shaft of the distributing roller and gluing rolls as shown in Fig. 4. By this arrangement the distributing roll when moved to an engaging position with the glue-roller will be positively ro- Itated so as to receive an even coating of glue through the intermittently intermeshed 

